Two Nickel Plate Road GP9s handle a local freight through the tabletop landscape near Madison, Ill., in 1958. EMD built 4,257 of the 1.750-h.p. model beginning in 1953. M.L. Powell, J. David Ingles collection […]
Nickel Plains Road
Zone & Region: Midwest
CPKC Final Spike Steam Tour | Upper Midwest Chase
The chase is on! Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 No. 2816 is on an epic journey from Canada to the U.S. to Mexico – all to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the CPKC railroad! After the vintage locomotive steamed crossed the U.S. border, Trains.com staff members (Lucas Iverson, Bryson Sleppy, Sean Kirby, and others) were there to […]
Archives center dedicated as part of C&NW Historical Society meeting, museum’s C&NW Days
UNION, Ill. — Dedication of the Chicago & North Western Historical Society’s Archives Research Center at the Illinois Railway Museum highlighted the society’s 50th anniversary celebration during its three-day 2024 convention at Union and Crystal Lake, Ill. The research center joins the replica 1950s street scene on the museum’s Main Street, and replaces the society’s […]
Riverside running
A Chicago, Burlington & Quincy freight hugs the Mississippi River north of Davenport, Iowa, in 1966. Lead GP7 No. 204 lacks dynamic breaks, while trailing SD7 No. 313 is so equipped. R. Ball photo […]
News photos: Restored N&W business car debuts
EAST CHICAGO, Ind. — The Norfolk & Western Business Car 300 Preservation Society unveiled the restored car on Saturday with an open house at repair and maintenance firm Professional Locomotive Services. Along with tours of the car — built in 1917 and modernized in 1955 — and displays of PLS equipment, visitors were treated to […]
Metra launches rider survey to aid in long-term planning
CHICAGO — Metra has launched a rider survey to help shape its future scheduling and infrastructure plans to meet its goal of becoming a “regional rail” operation — one providing more service at all times rather than focusing on weekday commuter-rush trains. The commuter operator has already taken some steps to increase off-peak service, such […]
Norfolk Southern donates depot to East Palestine
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Norfolk Southern on Thursday donated its station in East Palestine to the city, following up on a pledge made last year in the wake of the February derailment and chemical release in the community. The Times Leader newspaper reports that NS CEO Alan Shaw turned over the keys to the building […]
Trains.com Video BONUS | Behind Big Skies & Iron Rails
Trains.com Video BONUS | Behind Big Skies & Iron Rails … “Anything for The Shot.” It’s the photographer’s creed. But what does that really mean? Especially when it comes to railfan images captured by Trains.com’s intrepid adventurer Tom Danneman, who often contends with extended exposure to wild weather, rugged landscape, and outright lethal creatures too! […]
Metra to mark 40th anniversary with weekend of free rides
CHICAGO — Commuter rail operator Metra will offer free rides on the weekend of June 8-9, concluding a week of activities to mark its 40th anniversary. The agency dates its birth from June 8, 1984, when the first meeting was held of the Regional Transportation Authority’s Commuter Rail Division. The Metra name was adopted a […]
Amtrak Superliner Cars
The recent shortage of Amtrak long-distance sleeper cars has hoisted the venerable, but rapidly aging, Superliner equipment into the spotlight again. You can read more about past and present Superliner woes in the article, “Superliner capacity not a new issue”, appearing in the July 2024 issue of Trains magazine. But first, catch a glimpse of […]
Open House set for Saturday to mark completion of restoration of N&W business car
EAST CHICAGO, Ind. — The Norfolk & Western Business Car 300 Preservation Society will host an open house and unveiling ceremony to celebrate completion of the restoration of the railcar this Saturday, May 18, at Professional Locomotive Services in East Chicago. Admission is free. In additional to tours of the newly restored car, the event […]
Illinois Alco
An eastbound Toledo, Peoria & Western local behind olive-green-and-gold Alco RS2 No. 204 rolls across a steel bridge near Forrest, Ill., on Feb. 27, 1960. At the time, the road operated between Effner, on the Indiana-Illinois border, and Keokuk, Iowa, on the Mississippi River. J. Parker Lamb Jr. photo […]
